


Heavy Rain:  Wash Away the Past

by WayWardWonderer



Category: Heavy Rain
Genre: Detox, Epilogue, Faint, Fever, Gen, Healing, Heavy Rain Chronicles - mentioned, Missing Scene, Nightmares, Past, References to "Detroit: Become Human", References to Drugs, Side Effects, Withdrawal, collapse, ill, recovering, sick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-14 07:01:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29663520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WayWardWonderer/pseuds/WayWardWonderer
Summary: After the events with Origami Killer come to a happy end F.B.I. profiler Norman Jayden goes through withdrawal in his hotel room as he tries to rid himself of the influence of A.R.I. and Triptocaine. After falling sick from detoxing Norman gets some help from an unexpected ally and begins to contemplate his past and his future.
Comments: 16
Kudos: 8





	Heavy Rain:  Wash Away the Past

The national news of not only the rescue of Shaun Mars, but the death of the infamous "Origami Killer", was causing a frenzy of relief, curiosity and enthusiasm that had left everyone involved in the intense case feeling drained on every level that the human body could achieve. Ethan Mars momentarily reunited with his ex-wife and made sure Shaun felt safe again before they tried to do anything else moving forward. Madison Paige wrote her story, began writing a manuscript on the killings, and was able to confirm that Ethan was entirely innocent despite the skepticism of Lieutenant Carter Blake. Meanwhile F.B.I. profiler Norman Jayden finished his reports with his superiors before disappearing into his hotel room to get away from the craziness of the world around him.

Not quite ready to return to Washington D.C. and begin another case Norman locked himself away in the privacy of his hotel room to ride out his latest bout of withdrawal as he fought to get clean and stay clean. The A.R.I. program had exhausted his mind and made his reliance on Triptocaine just as addictive as the augmented reality that had begun to warp his perception of the world around him.

Feeling rundown, feverish, nauseated and enduring one of the most brutal migraines of his life Norman laid on the queen sized bed in his room in his sweaty jeans and white dress shirt as he used the second pillow beside him to cover his eyes as he pressed his head down against the first pillow beneath him. The thick fluff of the pillow helped block out the evening sunlight peeking through the closed curtains of the window, but it wasn't enough to keep all of the light away from his very sensitive eyes.

The hotel room was so quiet that Norman could hear his own heartbeat thundering in his chest as he struggled to endure his body trying to tear itself apart as it begged for one more hit of Triptocaine. Taking in deep breaths Norman could smell the detergent used to clean the pillow case covering his face and in turn it made his already nauseated stomach begin to churn.

"No..."

Moaning through the fabric of the pillow as his stomach twisted and his mouth watered Norman knew he was going to be sick.

"Shit!"

Throwing the pillow aside Norman closed his blue eyes, swung his legs over the edge of the bed and used his outstretched arms and hands to blindly guide himself into the bathroom a few feet away without tripping in the process. Keeping the light in the bathroom off Norman dropped to his knees in front of the toilet, opened the lid and let himself throw-up what meager contents were in his stomach as his body continued to angrily rebel at his decision to detox and get clean.

As his abdomen tightened and his shoulders hunched Norman let himself be sick and threw-up nothing but acid and bile before dry heaving with pained tears in the corners of his eyes. Looking down at the water in the toilet bowl Norman saw a few drops of blood fall from his now bleeding nose staining the orange tinted water a tea colored, and knew that he was going to get worse before he got better.

"Shit... I thought withdrawal would get easier over time." Spitting the foul taste from his mouth and into the dirty water Norman waited for his stomach to settle before trying to do anything else. "Guess that was too much to hope for."

Unexpected knocking on his locked hotel room door made Norman flinch as the sound was deafening to his migraine plagued ears. Forcing himself to stand up on his shaking legs Norman wiped his left hand under his bloody nose to remove some of the blood, then used his right hand to flush away his sickness from sight.

"Who the hell is that?"

More knocking told Norman that he wouldn't be able to get anymore rest until the intrusive visitor was shooed away from the door.

"Hold on." Dragging his feet as he approached the door Normal slid the chain off the door and turned the lock without even peering through the peephole first. Opening the door slowly Normal looked through the small opening created by the door being pulled from the frame and saw a familiar face staring right back at him very curiously. "...Madison?"

"Hello, Agent Jayden." Madison managed a warm but awkward smile as she looked at Norman through the small opening. "I heard you were still in the city and I wanted to thank you in person before it was too late."

A little confused it took Norman a moment to process what she was saying to him. "Thank me?"

"For listening to me when I called you. You made it to the warehouse in time and helped save Shaun's life."

"Oh... Right. Don't worry about it." Sniffling once Norman felt more blood running from his right nostril and down his lip. "I'm just glad everything worked out okay, especially for Shaun and Ethan."

"Yeah, they're fine." The nosebleed didn't go unnoticed and she honed right in on the fact that Norman was unwell. Too curious for her own good Madison made it clear she wasn't going to let observation for by unspoken. "But what about you?"

The question wasn't one Norman was expecting to receive and failed to deflect properly. "Me?"

"You look awful and you're bleeding."

"I-It's nothing." Trying to brush the nosebleed off Norman wiped away the blood on the back of his left hand again and stumbled backward a little. "Just an allergy problem."

"Don't lie to me. I can read people too well to be fooled like that."

"I'm fine." As he spoke Norman saw black dots dancing over his strained eyes and his ears began to ring. Unable to hide the shaking in his legs or the color draining from his face all he could hope to do was shut the door before Madison got a really good look at how miserable he really way. "I-I appreciate you stopping by, but I... I..."

"Jayden?"

Unable to respond Norman as he trailed off saw black as his body went limp, his eyes rolled up in the back of his head and his legs gave way.

"Jayden!" Pushing the door open quickly Madison managed to get her hands beneath Norman's head before he hit the floor and guide him down in a much more controlled fall. Kneeling down beside the now unconscious man Madison felt the intense heat radiating from his body and knew he was burning up with a high fever. "You're sick..."

Using her foot Madison pushed the door shut behind herself before focusing on how to help Norman without calling for an ambulance.

"Shit. Didn't think I'd have to do this twice!"

Walking around Norman without stepping on him or kicking him Madison hooked her hands beneath his arms and dragged him backward toward the bed where he had been laying moments before where she wanted to get him back up on top of the bed to rest more comfortably. Sitting Norman upright on the floor Madison pulled his limp right arm around her shoulders and noticed that Norman's bloodshot blue eyes were beginning to crack open.

"Hey, come on. Up!" Working very carefully and slowly Madison managed to coax Norman into very slowly standing up just long enough to sit down on the edge of the bed before laying down. Unbuttoning the top three buttons of Norman's sweaty shirt Madison just sighed and pulled a tissue from the box on the nightstand beside the bed to clean up the blood on Norman's face. "How long have you been sick?"

It took a few seconds for Norman to regain his bearings and remember what was going on. "...Too long."

Carefully carrying the blood soaked tissue into the bathroom Madison dropped it into the toilet and flushed it away for sanitary reasons. "What's your poison?" Calling out to Norman through the opened bathroom door Madison opened the medicine cabinet over the sink to find a few things to help the sick man feel better - her fingers brushing past a glass vial to focus on the plastic medicine bottles above it. Dropping a clean washcloth into the sink she turned on the cold tap and let the washcloth soak for a few minutes. "Cocaine? Heroin? Weed?"

Almost chuckling Norman let out a small sigh as he gave Madison an honest response as he heard the faucet in the sink turn off. "Reality."

"I don't think there's a cure for that." Exiting the bathroom with the two pill bottles and a cold, damp washcloth in her hands Madison sat down on the edge of the bed to check on Norman as he tried to recover from passing out. Pressing the cold washcloth over Norman's forehead Madison couldn't help but notice how pale and clammy his already naturally pale skin had become thanks to his withdrawal. "Your options are aspirin," holding up the first bottle Madison watched Norman's expression very closely. "or ibuprofen."

"It'll just come back up in ten minutes." Resting his left palm over his queasy stomach Norman decided taking any medicine would be a useful effort. "Don't worry about it."

"All right." Putting the medicine down on the nightstand Madison focused on other ways to aid the ailing man. "We'll come back to this later."

"Later? Madison, you don't have to take care of me."

"I know I don't, but I want to help you out." Her dark brown eyes were filled with fear and other raw emotions as their mutual close encounter with the now deceased Origami Killer had left her shaken. "I still feel like I owe you one..."

Closing his blues eyes for a moment Norman thought back to the first time they had met and let out an exhausted sigh. "You're talking about dealing with that Leland White freak." That case dubbed 'The Taxidermist' was infamous and one of the first Norman handled. "He deserves to be dead."

"You helped prove that I ran off and he turned the gun on himself." Pressing her left palm down over the washcloth Madison studied Norman's constricted pupils carefully and knew that the exhausted man was really fighting to keep clean. "If it wasn't for you coming in to check out the scene and speaking up for me when no one else would listen to me, then I'd probably be rotting behind bars right now."

"I was just doing my job."

"That's what you said when you got this." Pressing her left fingertips to the faint scar along his right cheek Madison made it clear that she didn't see Norman as anything less than a skilled and dedicated detective who was fearless in the face of danger. "Glad it healed."

"Just a scar." Norman confirmed as he felt Madison gently tracing the scar on his cheek. "Nothing more."

"Don't act like you didn't go through something horrible, Jayden."

Picking up on the use of his surname Norman mentioned it in passing. "Still with the last name, huh?"

"And don't deflect. That doesn't work on me, either."

"I thought I was the profiler here."

"Please be serious with me." Pulling her hand back Madison watched as Norman fought against his own emotions that he was trying to deny. The look in his eyes betrayed what he was feeling and thinking in that moment. "I know from my own experience that trying to deny what happened will only make things worse."

"I'm not denying that I lost my partner to that psycho, I'm just trying to deny the fact that I could've done more to save her."

"Stop. I may not have been there but I know you well enough to know you did everything in your power to save her. That scar," nodding at the faint scar running down Norman's right cheek Madison spoke sternly but kindly. "is proof that you put your own life on the line to save her."

"And it still wasn't enough."

"Is that why you're slowly killing yourself with drugs?"

"No. It's why I'm trying to escape reality."

"You know something? I can relate to that." Glancing about the hotel room Madison sighed and wondered how many hotel rooms she had spent her sleepless nights in ever since that fateful November night in 2006. Her own traumatic past had caused her to seek changes in her environment just as Norman had been doing. "That's why I'm going to leave the city with Ethan and Shaun, and start a new life in a new place."

"I'm glad you're moving on and found someone to move on with." Groaning a little Norman rested his right palm over his stomach next to the left as he felt nauseated again. "...Wish I could do the same."

"Do your bosses know that you're dealing with this shit?"

"No. I've been able to keep it a secret." Taking in a deep breath Norman used the slow breathing to ease his upset stomach as he did his best to not be physically ill again. "Not proud of it, but it's my business and my business alone. Thanks for checking in on me, but I'm fine now. Go be with Ethan and Shaun."

"And what'll happen if you blackout again? Or end up with another nosebleed in your sleep?"

"Madison, I-"

"You're going to do nothing but lay there and sleep. Once your fever breaks I'll go, but until then you're going to have to put up with my company whether you want it or not."

Attempting to sit upright on the bed Norman was met with Madison's right hand pressing against his left shoulder as she forced him to lay back. "Trust me." Too tired and weak to even resist Madison's touch Norman admitted defeat and tried one last time to get her to leave. "You're not going to want to see how much worse I'm going to get before I can finally move around without feeling sick."

"I can assure you that I've seen things far worse than someone being sick and miserable." Standing up from the edge of the bed Madison moved over to the vacant chair against the far wall and planted herself firmly to watch over Norman as he rested. "I'm not going anywhere."

* * *

The next fourteen or so hours were spent with Norman drifting in and out of a fever induced slumber while Madison stayed ever vigil beside him. In between Norman's feverish nightmares and whenever he had brief moments of lucidity Madison would coax him into drinking a small amount of cool water to ensure he didn't dehydrate himself as he sweated heavily from the persistent fever and vomited. Horrid, relentless and haunting images from Norman's past cases and confrontations with dangerous criminals kept the sickly profiler from resting properly and would frequently cause his already upset stomach to betray him over and over again until he had nothing left to throw-up into the garbage can that Madison had presented to him after pulling out from under the nightstand.

Muttering random names and begging for unseen foes to surrender peacefully Norman was unaware of Madison tending to his fever with cool washcloths against his forehead and over his chest. Memories of cases that had gone bad and encounters that were far too close for his own comfort made it practically impossible for Norman to rest while his body went through a nasty detox.

"F-Fuck... Stop!" Shouting in his delirium Norman's bloodshot blue eyes were partially opened and glazed over as his racing mind began to betray him. "D-Don't do it..."

"Shh, you're okay." Whispering in a soft tone Madison dabbed the refreshed cool washcloth against Norman's sweaty forehead and tried to quell his fever as much as possible. As resourceful as she was Madison knew she wasn't a substitute for an actual medical doctor and Norman being so ill was something that shouldn't be taken lightly. "You're safe. Just sleep."

"Sh-Shaun. I-I-I need to find Shaun!"

"You did find him." Madison reassured him as she stayed beside him. "You saved his life and you cleared his father of any wrongdoing. It's over now, the Origami Killer is gone."

Blinking slowly Norman lolled his head against his sweat covered pillow and looked at Madison hovering over him. Her face and voice were familiar enough to keep the detoxing profiler from lashing out at her in a blind panic. "...It's over?"

"Yes. Case closed."

"C-Caught the killer?"

"You found the killer and you took care of him. He'll never hurt another innocent child ever again."

"Ethan..." The memory of Ethan Mars begging for help as he went to the police precinct suddenly flashed in his eyes. "Ethan is innocent."

"That's right, you proved him innocent and saved him when he found Shaun. The Origami Killer was going to shoot Ethan but you protected him and Shaun, and then stopped the killer before he hurt anyone else."

"Don't..." Grabbing onto Madison's right wrist with a weak grip Norman struggled to comprehend what he was being told. "Don't let... Blake... He'll arrest an i-innocent man!"

"Lieutenant Blake is under investigation for his poor handling of the Origami Killer case." It wasn't a secret that the abrasive detective let his ego call the shots and nearly cost Shaun his life and Ethan his freedom. "It's okay."

Seemingly able to understand what Madison had said Norman let go of her wrist and closed his eyes as exhaustion won out over his overwhelmed mind.

"I don't know what the hell you've been using." Madison whispered as she readjusted the washcloth over Norman's sweaty forehead. "But I hope when this is over you never use it again."

* * *

The next time Norman opened his heavy eyelids a new day had already begun. Covered in dried, cold, sticky sweat left the profiler feeling filthy. The horrible taste lingering on his dry tongue reminded him of how sick he had been the day before and the pain of his strained abdominal muscles confirmed that he was just hallucinating. Propping himself upright on his elbows, his entire body still shaking from weakness and dehydration, Norman felt his head swimming and knew that he still wasn't alone. A warm hand resting on his right shoulder drew his attention to Madison standing beside the bed as she presented him with a drinking glass full of water.

Accepting the glass with a trembling left hand Norman sipped at the cool water and relished in how is soothed his dry, burning throat. It was the first time in well over a day where he felt anything pleasant as his body endured the hardship of withdrawal.

"Your fever broke about two hours ago." Madison stated in a soft tone in case Norman's migraine was still lingering. "How do you feel?"

Taking another sip of the water Norman turned to face Madison and managed a faint grin on his chapped lips. "Parched." Finishing the water entirely Norman placed the now empty glass down on the nightstand beside the bed. The pill bottles were gone and the tissue box was emptied into the trashcan beside the bed. "Have you been taking care of me all night?"

"One of the few upsides to insomnia is being able to keep vigil all night long."

"Thank you. I don't deserve that kind of compassion."

"You're too hard on yourself, Norman."

Letting out an amused sigh through his nose Norman ran his left hand through his sweat drenched locks of hair as he looked Madison in her chocolate brown eyes. "You finally called me by my first name."

"Want me to go back to calling you 'Jayden'?"

"Not at all. It's nice to be addressed like a person and not an agent or profiler, or even a blurb on the evening news." Dropping his hand from his hair Norman pressed his right fingertips to upper lip just below his nose and was relieved to not feel anymore blood. "I think I'm through the worst of it. You should go be with Ethan and Shaun, now. I'm okay."

"You're in a rush to get me out of here."

"It's not that I don't enjoy the company of an intelligent and kind woman, it's just that I need to clean up and try to look presentable before I make that long drive back to D.C. to give my final report to my bosses. It's not easy making it look like all the shit I just went through didn't affect me."

"Tell me about it."

"Please?" Insisting that Madison go Norman remain polite and patient with her. "Go be with Ethan and Shaun. You've done more than enough for me and I need to be the one to clean up the mess that I created."

"Don't put so much on your shoulders, Norman. You're only one man and you're not indestructible." Keeping her warm grin on her face Madison walked around the bed and made her way to the room to leave Norman alone. "Keep in touch, okay? We make a pretty good team."

"I will, I promise."

Waiting for the sound of the door to click shut before he moved Norman let out a deep sigh as he willed his heavy legs to move so he could drag himself into the bathroom to try to clean himself up. Flicking on the light by the switch on the wall Norman blinked his eyes a few times as the stinging brightness took a moment to adjust to.

Reaching into the shower Norman turned on the water and fussed with the handle the water was at a comfortable enough temperature for him to handle as his weakened and shaking body struggled to interact with anything without feeling like there were icy and hot needles stabbing into his skin from all directions. Working to remove his sweat stained shirt and jeans Norman dropped his clothing on the floor at his feet and caught a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror above the sink.

For the first time in countless months Norman was able to look himself in the eyes as he let his body rid itself of the addictive nature that stemmed from both A.R.I. and the Triptocaine. Tracing his right fingertips over the scar on his cheek Norman saw how much it had faded and wondered how long it'd take for it to disappear entirely, that is, if it would at all.

"No more slip-ups, no more weak moments."

Opening the medicine cabinet Norman spotted the two pill bottles that Madison had put back and reached for the glass vial holding his final dose of Triptocaine for the final time. Wrapping his fingers around the vial to hold it in a tight grip Norman took in a deep breath as he removed the cap on the vial and turned it onto its side to dump the liquid chemical into the toilet.

"Right where it belongs. With the rest of the shit."

Flushing away the drug Norman threw the now empty vial into the nearby trashcan and proceeded to walk into the shower at last. As the clean water washed away his sweat and warmed his clammy, sticky skin Norman felt as if he were truly clean for the first time since he became addicted to A.R.I. and relied on the foul drug to keep the symptoms at bay.

Looking down Norman watched the water swirling at his feet as it ran down the drain. It gave him flashes of the pooling heavy rain that nearly stole Shaun Mars' life just days before.

"How many more people would I be able to save if I stopped falling into fantasy and just focused on reality? _True_ reality."

Closing his eyes the physically and mentally exhausted profiler wiped his right palm down his face as if to remove any lingering blood or dirt from his facade. He felt dirty inside and out, and was determined to never let himself fall into the dark spiral of addiction, dependence and abuse ever again.

"A.R.I. was meant to make my life easier, but in the end it's caused more problems than I could've ever imagined."

Rubbing his left fingers over his tired, strained and bloodshot eyes Norman hoped that in the future the lack of A.R.I. would allow his exhausted eyes to heal and stop all of the sporadic hallucinations in general. Maybe it'd reduce the frequency of his nightmares as well.

"I can only imagine what future technology has in store for us. It'd be better to air on the side of caution and not become too dependent on such artificial conveniences."

Tilting his head back Norman let the shower wash over his neck and chest to ensure every bit of dried sweat was washed away.

"As far as I know technology could become something beyond human control, and take on a life of its own..."

_**-End of Story-** _

**Author's Note:**

> I decided to write at least one "Heavy Rain" fic since the game is still a solid entry in the Quantic Dream collection, and I don't see too much love for that game these days.
> 
> Also, if you want to take part in what I'm calling "March Whumpness", here's a link to where you can find all of the prompt challenges. No time limits, no character limits and don't worry about length! Just have fun writing and taking on a challenge for the sake of a challenge! :)
> 
> https://discord.com/channels/781369714138939413/781369714811207692
> 
> Feel free to join this discord as well. This is my own and I want to create a safe place for fanfic-fanatics to openly discuss their favorite stories, characters and potential works.
> 
> Or read the list right here "March Whumpness 2021":
> 
> 1.) Bug
> 
> 2.) "Where are you?"
> 
> 3.) Luck
> 
> 4.) Sick Day
> 
> 5.) Nightmare
> 
> 6.) Fight
> 
> 7.) "You need to do this!"
> 
> 8.) Cold
> 
> 9.) Hot
> 
> 10.) Stuck
> 
> 11.) "You're safe now, I promise."
> 
> 12.) Smoke
> 
> 13.) "Let me see."
> 
> 14.) Overwhelmed
> 
> 15.) Storm
> 
> 16.) Silent
> 
> 17.) "You can't quit now, I need you!"
> 
> 18.) Water
> 
> 19.) "Don't be sorry."
> 
> 20.) Hiding
> 
> 21.) Collapse
> 
> 22.) Mistake
> 
> 23.) "Don't. Move!"
> 
> 24.) Alarm
> 
> 25.) Shock
> 
> 26.) Broken
> 
> 27.) "It's not your fault."
> 
> 28.) "Hang on!"
> 
> 29.) Isolation
> 
> 30.) Fear 
> 
> *31.) "You belong here, with me. Trust me!"


End file.
